The Board of Selectmen Tuesday voted for Selectmen Cara Winslow and Brenda Eckstrom to join an ad hoc committee charged with reviewing the town and school budget.

The need for the new committee was realized by town officials after a public meeting held last week to discuss the $28 million school budget showed that, if fully funded, a $4 million deficit on the town side would result, according to Town Administrator Mark Andrews' proposed budget. The committee will consist of two representatives from the Finance Committee, the School Committee, and the Board of Selectmen, and will determine if there are any dollars that can be moved around within the budgets to help the situation.

The School Department is requesting a $2 million increase over this fiscal year's budget in order to fill what Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch calls an "achievement gap" between the performance of Wareham students and state averages.

Still in its early stages, the committee will officially meet for the first time on Friday, January 28. That meeting is closed to the public in order to "lay ground rules," according to Andrews. However, future meetings of the committee are expected to be opened to the public.

In other town business, the Land Donation Committee was introduced to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night. The new committee will standardize procedures for land donations made to the town.

The committee will be comprised of Town Administrator Mark Andrews, Conservation Agent Dave Pichette, Treasurer John Forester, Director of Assessment Sheila Scaduto, Maintenance Director Mark Gifford, and Town Account Elizabeth Zaleski.

Pichette, who will chair the committee,  told the Selectmen on Tuesday the Land Donation Committee will handle and provide timely responses regarding all land donations made to the town.

Selectman Brenda Eckstrom Tuesday introduced her idea for a rally against violence in Wareham. In light of the recent surge in community violence, she said the rally is needed to voice the concerns of residents and show offenders that Wareham isn't the place for crime. During Tuesday's meeting, Eckstrom noted she'd already coordinated with Wareham Police on this effort and plans to reach out to the schools and potential sponsors during the week. She is hoping to have a public meeting about the proposed rally on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Multi-Service Center, located at 48 Marion Road in Wareham. We will provide more information about the proposed event in upcoming issues of Wareham Week and on WarehamVillageSoup.com.